Update: Videocast THE SCOOP ON YOUR POOP at 3pm PST Thursday. Please continue to submit questions and I’ll answer live and 1-2 that are posted. Thank you!

What’s In Your Gut Zoo? Missing Leanness and Longevity?

If you are plateauing on fat loss, consider the gut microbes that can hijack and hamper your health success. The 5 mass extinctions of the gut microbiota lead to the loss of ‘the limbs of the microbiota’ that are attributed to leanness and longevity.

Consider that we co-evolved with them for millions if not billions of years and it is a relationship that requires nurturing, replenishment, and proper attention. Consider that for optimal body fat recomposition, the bugs residing/missing in the gut may be more important than the fuel. You may be feeding empty zoo cages in the modern age or worse, caged vipers, rogues and renegades.

Resistant Starch is Highly Unlikely to Miraculously Lead to Fat Loss Recently Dr. Nett at Kresser’s office did a post about how RS may improve weight loss. How resistant starch (RS) can help is very very very indirect. Let’s talk about the entire community of the gut and c-o-n-t-e-x-t.

I have not seen RS miraculously induce fat loss in obese human animals. I can list the people who are still ‘challenged’ (like I was for a while!). Unfortunately there are few anecdotes, human RCTs, human cases or internet stories that back up instant weight loss with RS — yes — because I’ve looked. RS is just a fiber. Digestible complex carbs are fiber too — 10% escape into the colon and feed the microbiota quite well. If the diet is 150-200 grams carbs, then 15 to 20 grams will be pure fuel for the colon flora. Nice, eh? That’s half of our ‘fiber quotient’.

These researchers Johnston et al found “Resistant starch consumption did not significantly affect body weight, fat storage in muscle, liver or visceral depots. There was also no change with resistant starch feeding on vascular function or markers of inflammation. However, in subjects randomized to consume the resistant starch, insulin sensitivity improved compared with the placebo group (P = 0.023)…Unlike in animal models, diabetes prevention does not appear to be directly related to changes in body adiposity, blood lipids or inflammatory markers. Further research to elucidate the mechanisms behind this change in insulin sensitivity in human subjects is required.”

What does work is getting to the root causes of obesity, fat gain and dysregulated metabolism. Humans are complex. Obesity and evolution are intertwined. For all life on earth including plants and insects, we are superorganisms living in symbiosis with an entire community of microbes. The microbial community can actually hijack and hamper health when it is diseased. OTOH the microbial community can be epically collaborative in optimizing longevity and health in our co-evolved microbe-host interaction that has been ongoing for literally hundreds of millions of years, if not billions.

Many examples of a collaborative community exist where mutual support and mutual exchange of energy and spirit co-exist. Local, sustainable, organic farms that bring our livestock, eggs and produce are my favorite examples. The paleo/primal hood and the ancestral AHS14 are others.

I talked about the cohousing experiment by Ridaura et al at AHS. They took gut microbiota from human twins that were discordant for obesity (one twin lean, one twin obese) and put them into GF (germ free) rodents. Later they cohoused lean with obese mice and observed the changes after a fat inducing diet (high saturated fat) v. high fiber, low fat diet. The results were not surprising and showed the compelling power of poop. Why did cohousing work?

(Coprophagy = PROBIOTICS)

On the fat inducing diet, lean mice didn’t get as obese and the obese mice become super obese.

See below. The cohoused animals had notable changes which make this study an epic study for the gut: the lean cohoused mice got jacked by eating the poop of the obese mice, eg they gained fat mass on the high fiber diet. The obese mice however upon cohousing, high plant fuel diet, and attaining the ‘lean core microbiota’ (mini fecal transplant) via coprophagy/cohousing GAINED LEAN MASS AND LOST SIGNIFICANT BODY FAT MASS.

I think the true beauty of the Ridaura study is that the shift in microbiota + diet reflected in metabolic changes, insulin sensitivity and body fat recompositioning. The gut shifts were tracked and the invasion of the ancestral core microbes from the lean mice into the obese mice was directly related to the body fat changes.

Fig 3A and 4C shows the shift in the gut that correspond to the lean phenotype. The roadmap to healthy body fat recomposition is shown here. An ‘invasion’ of the lean ‘poop’ (mini fecal transplant) into the obese mice are dissected into just a handful of species, of which two are part of the ancestral core that I talk about at AHS. All the species below are great when they are coming from a ‘healthy community’ eg happy, healthy, horny/hormonally-young mouse.

Enriched in mice colonized with or invaded by members of a Ln microbiotaBacteroides uniformis*Bacteroides vulgatus* — one of the 7 ancestral coreEubacterium desmolans* — E. rectale is one of the 7 ancestral core

8. Plant polyphenols lower inflammation as well as tighten up gut epithelium and tight junctions (bilberry, citrus, pectin from legumes and apples, etc)

9. Lower non-ancestral stress

10. Weed your gut–probiotics–fiber, complex carbohydrates (low glycemic index), resistant starch–in obesity, several overgrowths have been detected with consistency and reliability. Get ride of these. The species are listed in Ridaura’s article and my AHS14 slides. The lean mice (from human discordant twins) do not have these strains and when they were invaded, they gained body fat even on the high fiber low fat diet. In human gut sequencing studies, overgrowths of yeasts, protozoa, parasites and pathogenic bacteria are found. Fix these by seeing an integrative and functional medicine practitioner for stool/urine testing and appropriate care

Anonymous

Dr. BG. Thanks for your excellent blog.

This is what I’ve been doing to heal my dysbiotic microbiota: – Ancestral-type diet– plenty of traditionally fermented foods– Plenty of fermentable substrates. Incl. Å LOT of resistant starch both from PS and food.– Soil-based probiotics

My gut is now A LOT healthier, but for some reason I’m still fatigued and my hormones are out of whack. I have little energy left for exercise, strength training is a chore and my progress is poor (which it hasn’t always been), my libido is low, and my mood is completely off.

Do you have any suggestions? I really thought that healing the gut was the answer, but it doesn’t seem to be…

Thanks for your story Peter and sharing your successes. Hope for more!!

A D R E N A L S

Ur adrenals are f*kered imho (been there!). Give them a rest. Consider adaptogens, eating enuf carbs, sleep more, and even preg/DHEA if needed. Seek help if not better.

When your T goes up then you know you are on the right track

Anonymous

Thanks for the quick reply.

Some additional information: I did a blood test not long ago. My testosterone is within the normal range, but my sex hormone-binding globulin (SHGB) is very high. I guess this indicates that my levels of free testosterone are low.

What do you mean when you say give the adrenals a rest? I’ve actually increased my carb intake lately (more tubers and some whole grains), but no change.

Do you have any specific supplements (adaptogens?), strategies, etc. you recommend?

Consider this – RS is empty calories for microbes. Microbes can maybe make vitamins, they certainly can’t make minerals. Try adding a teaspoon of molasses to a prebiotic fix – works for gardeners trying to vitalize cellulose.

Anonymous

Are you still interested in looking at comprehensive stool test results? If so, please let me know where I can email them.

No mention is made of this topic in your present “Top 10.” Do you still see this as part of a weight loss regimen or has your thinking evolved away from this? Also, what role might coconut oil and MCT oil play in producing/supporting a healthy microbiome?

Anonymous

if you wanna lose weight just get IBS. careful what you wish for.

GUT~MOJO

Great blog, been following for awhile slowly tweaking the 7 steps while trying to heal my gut. However, similar to the commenter above I think my taxed adrenal’s/high fungal growth (systemic on the skin) are constantly stunting my progression.

Adrenals!!!….You often reference the adrenals/fungal loads being a huge aspect in the ability and/or inability to heal your gut via the protocol. My question revolves around that aspect of the healing journey. How imperative is it to have the adrenals in check when implementing the 7 steps and what is the best way to tackle that? I’ve noticed one of your comments to a reader that you may not get anywhere with weak adrenals and high fungal loads.

BioFilm!!!This leads me to a follow up question regarding minerals. Studies show that minerals (magnesium, calcium, iron) can actually contribute to bio-film surrounding the pathogens and/or yeast. So while minerals are important for the adrenals and establishing balance to offset yeast and make the 7 steps effective, they may also hinder progression by contributing to bio-film? I noticed a comment where you referenced iron feeding pathogens. Additionally, soil based organisms are bio-film busters that hopefully contribute as well. Any overall take?

DIET!!!In regards to the diet. I found this gem that you wrote on FTA regarding the overall diet

“Yeasts grow throughout the entire GIT. Using RS2 alone will not spread SCFA down the whole, entire GIT unfortunately. Even high doses of RPS in trials do not lower stool pHs. Several studies show this. This is the warning for readers why it is so important to use whole food and complement RPS with insoluble fiber so that the bulk with carry all fermentable fiber and be a scaffold for microbial activities that will increase acidity all the way to the gut terminus. (cellulose works! pigs or rodents had 3-5% cellulose (low fiber diet) and produced more SCFA and significantly lower stool pH)”

This was a great find because the diet for me has been challenging to tweak. It seems every time I implement starch or RS yeast goes into overdrive, BUT I have yet to consistently be hitting ~150 of safe starches. I went full throttle once on the 7 steps when starting and it crushed me. Have now been weeding with SBO’s, etc…..to try and build back up. The questions here is if someone is just tweaking around with starch and RS, but continues to get symptoms could the amount of fermentable starch be too low to make the RS effective, thus increasing yeast?…..or is it better to pull back and continue to weed via SBO’S, botanicals, etc. Also, the top recommended is now banana flour because it does not have the potential to feed yeast like PS does, correct? I assume getting RS2 from green banana’s is just as viable?

Finally, on the diet tip…..thoughts on the optimal way to schedule eating for adrenals? Would be great to see a longer post describing the 7 steps for the adrenal impaired. You make excellent quick references (low glycemic, blood sugar issues, every 4 hours, etc) and a full post would be rad as well. For instance the optimal daily low glycemic starch bomb for the gut homies alongside timing of meals, exercise, etc.

I just saw your recent talk you YouTube. I am also Taiwanese (I’m half-white half-Taiwanese). I’m a 21-year-old college student and have been struggling with gut problems for a year and a half now. I started low-carb AIP Paleo with no starch or inulin and am now at a moderate carb and I eat about 4 raw green plantains a day for the RS2. I am unable to eat inulin or digestible starch without joint problems. I have Reactive Arthritis, and from what I read, Klebsiella is being fed and that is causing my issues. I don’t know where to start with everything – I’m doing the 7-step as much as I can (can’t eat inulin or digestible starch).

Where is your practice? I really would love to come to you. I feel so lost and overwhelmed constantly sitting on the computer every day trying to figure out what to do. I am waiting on OATs and Comp Stool tests right now.

We talked extensively about adrenals here and in comments. Hope it helps! Please let me know what works or if you need private consultation!

Anon,

Yes please email results. If you don’t mind let me if ok to post on Livecast? Will block any name/personal info/privacy. I’m buried but collecting to talk to you later.

George,I think what works for organic, sustainable, long-term gardening nearly every time works for the gut. If someone however has high insulin resistance, honey or molasses or fruit can cause metabolic problems.

MCT, coconut oil, ghee, lard and tallow are all part of the foundational oils the human body needs for both macronutrients and as a vehicle for vital fat-based vitamins (ADEK2) and providing substrates for steroidal hormones. The saturated fat from our microbial fermentation actions are vital as well. All the carbons from acetate (2-carbon), propionate (3 C) and butyrate (4 C) become other molecules in our organs and bodies, besides being broken down as fuel in mitochondria. Remember butyrate is a substrate of ketones (eg beta hydroxy butyrate). If you examine kombucha, it does in fact contain caprylic acid which is also found in coconut oil, from fermentation.

So to detail the ‘basic law of nutritional thermodynamics’ is that if one eats high fat, don’t eat high carb simultaneously. Vice versa, if one eats high carb, don’t eat high fat. These are like the brakes v. accelerator in mammalian physiology and biochemistry. Hibernation phenotypes occur when we combine high fat+ high carb. This is imho aligned with our summer v winter evolutionary adaptations to the interglacials and ice ages for the last hundreds of millions of years. I think some people are more sensitive to this thermodynamic law and it might be based on ancestral geography (northern latitudes).

Anonymous

I just wonder if Dr Mark Hyman would sell me his poo!Homogenize with saline, J tube or retention enema.And I am only half kidding.

GUT MOJOYoure too cuul for words. I have thoughts for you. Do you have H pylori? My daughter has these overgrowths as well (C section, formula, massive overdoses of antibiotics, ear infections, blah blah)

I’ll try to talk more about targeted approaches later. Lots to DIY but need concerted efforts, weed/seed, probiotics and prebiotics. Incidentally acupuncture has helped as well when oral route and 7 steps not enuf.

James,My soul bro! Yes contact me as well like mojo. My practice will be opening up shortly. Thanks for your comment. Yes starches and RS feed anklosing spondylitis, RA and reactive arthritis. The risk v benefit of eating PHD, RS or starches is debatable until proper rehab of the gut occurs with testing, not guessing.

Hi Dr Grace. Long time lurker and fellow practitioner. I wish I could get continuing ed credits from reading your blog!!!! Just curious if you use great plains labs and diagnos techs? Dr Bob

Anonymous

Grace,

what do you think of Red Palm Oil? I’d like to add a few TBSP of healthy oil at each meal for good digestion or absorption of A,D, E, K etc and currently using EV Olive Oil and Coconut Oil. I also add sunflower lecithin and sometimes limonene as emulsifiers.

Wondering your thoughts on what would be ideal, maybe add grass-fed butter to this or ground flax, chia, hemp etc?

I could wait for an answer on your upcoming videocast if it was a worthy question. 🙂

GUT~MOJO

Thanks for the feedback.

Yup, I have H.Pylori wreaking effing havoc on my gut and likely joyriding into my bloodstream.

I’ve been relentlessly trying to eliminate the overgrowth of Pylori, which I believe should help get yeast in check. The standard scenario of hoping for the SBO’s and antimicrobials to set the stage and allow feeding more starch to the good homies in order to maximize production of SCFA’s and lower PH, but can’t seem to turn that corner. (Clay has allowed me to reintroduce fermented food, just as you’ve referenced).

I assumed that by lowering the pathogens, getting yeast in check would follow…..but since the adrenal’s are kicked (with full on fatigue) and fungal is mucho aggressive there has been extensive WEEDING needed.

Any specifics on H.Pylori would be RAD. I would also be very interested in working with you and will send an e-mail. ***I’m about to drop an assault of AOR3 into combat and take a barefoot walk in the dirt.

anon

Thank you, Dr Liu.

Let me know where I can send my comp stool test results and I would be more than happy for you to use them in a livecast. I think I’m a very interesting case and my test shows that.

I look forward to one day becoming your first ever phone client, too 😉

DR Bob,What a compliment! Thanks!! There are so many projects going on but more ‘edu-tainment’ is in the works definitely for you and other gut-minded people, and really shouldn’t all of medicine be gut-minded now that the evidence and studies are so clear? And the gut like all organs is interconnected with many other things. Our mammalian gut is interweaved with the Earth. We can’t fix broken, sick guts unless we revere and and cherish the soil around us, no?

I love different oils but honestly I’m coming to a paradigm that our individual genetic differences like many things may actually dictate the best oil sources, oil macros and oil amounts. In paleo/bulletproof land, we don’t think or deeply consider the potential (and likely) broad spectrum ‘adverse’ effects of MCT or coconut oil when a gut is marginal or has limited symbiotic flora. Adding something as potent as MCT and coconut are great for eliminating yeast but what happens if we eliminate the rare, endangered symbionts as well??

When the mucus lining and epithelium are frayed and damaged, I personally find psyllium (version A of bionic fiber), ground flax/hemp/chia, etc a bit too caustic until wound healing improves (2-4wks).

Version B is raw green banana flour (or green plantains/flour) + inulin. Far more gentle and these will make you superhuman by growing the symbionts as well as the raw RS eating flora. The RS eating flora are great but they are just the workhorses, not the superstars of the gut. We evolved and more importantly so did the gut superstars when we introduced (non-toxic) cooked tubers, fermented meats/plants, and broad spectrum plant polysaccharides (legumes, low/no gluten grains, etc).

“Yup, I have H.Pylori wreaking effing havoc on my gut and likely joyriding into my bloodstream.” You holy cow crack me up the stream… I’d like to joyride in your brain for a millisecond.

H pylori loves yeast for some reason. Ulcers (including microulcerations in the small intestines and stomach) go hand in hand with both HP and yeast. It’s unknown to many but skin issues, acne, rosacea, etc are all manifestations of HP and its toxins in the skin.

Our best defenses are visiting healthy, organic farms (get thee to a PHARM! lol), probiotics with anti-HP spectrum, anti-candidal strategies and mucus rebuilding tools. HP is not bad but it has been rendered to a ‘toxic’ life form because of our use of antibiotics, poor refined diets, lack of mom’s milk/immunoprotection, etc. Ancestral HP has followed our mammalian ancestors for literally hundreds of millions of years. We jacked them — but there are many ways to revert them and hopefully live harmoniously again by rehabing lifestyles and the gut. Please let’s talk more soon!

I am trying to add fibrous carbs to my diet. I am a type II diabetic. My fasting BG has gone up to 120 and my post meal 1 hour over 140. On LCHF fasting BG around 100 and post meal one hour 120. I feel better eating the carbs from fruit, vegetables and starchy carbs like rice and potatoes. I am also using a little PS and Inulin along with one or 2 probiotics. Should I continue this food protocol?

Mycroft Jones

Day 1 of doing the potato hack: I’ve eaten 4 and 1/4 pounds of potatoes, and now weigh 5 and 1/2 pounds more than I did this morning. This is the exact kind of bloating I experienced on my whipped cream very high fat experiment. If I get to 210 pounds, I’m bailing from the potato hack; I went from 200 to 220 pounds last winter just by drinking 3 cups of organic whipped cream every day.

GUT~MOJO

Appreciate the cranial joyride of info. I just dropped you an e-mail.

I’ll ask the following questions here in case other’s have interest/input with the H.Pylori/Yeast connection.

“H.Pylori loves yeast”…..

In what context? They thrive in a yeast environment or they actually feed on yeast?

“Probiotics with anti-Hp spectrum”

I assume you are referring to all of the soil based organisms alongside daily fermented fiesta’s…or is there something more specific?

As an aside, very interesting input on the oil implementation and how to best integrate into healing strategies for an imbalanced gut. The “safe” oils seem to often get categorized together or in coconut oil’s case, praised immensely. Oil selection is highly important if it’s being used daily and to have a clear barometer for what works best for the individual would be solid.

Have you read Mark Hyman’s book on BG and diabetes? Functional medicine can help you to figure out the root causes of insulin resistance: mercury, inflammation, metabolism, HPA-thryoid axis, and obviously gut health/subclinical infections. Good to hear from you!

Maybe you and Jeffrey may conference a little. The potato hack works because imho it gets boring and people become ketotic within 1-2 days of eating 1-2 kg of potatoes (unsalted, no butter, BORING). What is your goal? Fat loss? Gut rehab?

GUT MOJO

It could go the other way too, maybe yeast loves HP and the little microaerophilic, damaged niche aggressive HP strains create. Yeast is normal in small amounts but high amounts renders damage for susceptible guts.

“Version B is raw green banana flour (or green plantains/flour) + inulin. Far more gentle and these will make you superhuman by growing the symbionts as well as the raw RS eating flora.”I love this. A big a-ha moment for me. I started green banana flour a few weeks ago, and boy, felt like I was back to square one as my body didn’t tolerate it well at all! But that’s ok, cause now I know that that is the bit I need to focus on.The Amazing Greens powder you recommend arrived yesterday — wow love it. Felt an immediate boost. And I have tried several green powders over the years. Thank you!I was wondering why you only mention taking Inulin in the mix, and not FOS/Inulin. I thought they were friends?

Sad, eh? Glyphosate is clearly toxic and even fatal to microbial life. It causes mitochondrial toxicity as well and our mitochondria, the nuclear power houses of nearly every cell in our body, are bacterial in origin. It is no wonder collateral damage to these herbicides and pesticides being sprayed on elementary schools, municipals greens and almost every lawn and park is affecting epidemic levels of disease, cancer and autism.

Thx for the link!

Do you have any latex allergies? Sometimes the cross – reactivity leads to banana sensitization. Pollen sensitization is sometimes related also to banana intolerance too.

Glad that the green ORAC powder is tasty enough and working. Many report immediate changes. It helps to strengthen the tight junctions until they are better ‘sealed’.

Oligosaccharides like FOS are often interlinked with longer chained polysaccharides like inulin. When compounds like inulin are broken down by the appropriate microbes, they indeed provide and supply oligosaccharides like FOS and others. To create FOS however food manufacturers need to split it from the ‘complex’ with enzymes so FOS is very synthetic in that regard.

Anything in a factory is refined but temporary use I think is ok as a crutch until real food can be relied upon. I’m among several that cannot tolerate potato starch — it causes immuno suppression within 2-3 days. Not sure if it is the nickel/stainless steel during processing/drying or the sulfites (1 Tbs is fine but 2-4 Tbs is perhaps too many sulfites, the bleaching/preservative).

Anonymous

I don’t think I have a latex allergy — none that I’ve noticed. Honestly it is mostly because my gut is a car crash, and frankly it is a relief to finally trace all my health issues to it. I have done a few months of potato starch slowly working up to one tablespoon (one day will get to 2-3tablespoons! wow that will be radical!), so thought that it had prepped the way for the green banana flour. Err… not so much! But it’s ok, will just keep plugging away. Have been doing coffee enemas to help the liver and keep the toxins moving out of there as fast as possible.

That’s interesting re the FOS being very synthetic. Thanks for letting me know. Will finish my bottle and just get inulin next time.

Shame you are allergic to the potato starch. I guess you could always try making your own to see if it’s from the nickel. I believe that Richard posted a video somewhere. Looked fairly easy from memory. Time and motivation is always the catch though!

And sorry to have missed your live webcast today. Have you thought of recording them for those in another timezone?

Thanks so much Dr Grace, your work has helped me so much.

Andrea

MycroftJones

How do you feel about going straight to oligosaccharides by taking malto-dextrin? Rob Rhinehard used malto-dextrin in his first version of soylent, and he noted the smooth, sustained energy he had for hours. No blood sugar spike. Maltodextrin is also cheap and easily available.

What time zone is convenient for you? The video is now listed on the G-channel tab ‘video’!

Yes it’s easy at home (my kids tried — not well tho! lol) But packaged RPS has additives. I do fine with food and minimally processed (green banana flour 2-4 Tbs/day, inulin, organic beet root powder, etc). Yeah it is interesting because I hear enough of other RPS failures as well. I think I have more ‘ancient’ type genes and many modern things I don’t tolerate (like sitting on my *ss, lack of sunlight and metals/titanium).

NIghtshades are toxic to some (permeability is part of the origin), so that is great you can tolerate potato starch with no probs. Trying to consume insoluble fiber or viscous fibers will move the fermentation toward the terminal end, otherwise it flash-burns out early in the caecum. The benefits of butyrate won’t be spread out.

MycroftActually I like maltodextrin for temporary use and a ‘gut break’.

OS are fantastic. Personally I prefer to get them from legumes and veggies and natural fermentation but for sick, broken guts, this is less likely to happen because the keystone species are gone and missing. The best to replicate are taking probiotics + inulin until they fast tract back into population. From wiki:

“Oligosaccharides are one of the components of fibre, found in plants. FOS and inulin are found naturally in Jerusalem artichoke, burdock, chicory, leeks, onions, and asparagus. FOS products derived from chicory root contain significant quantities of inulin, a fiber widely distributed in fruits, vegetables and plants. Inulin is a significant part of the daily diet of most of the world’s population. FOS can also be synthesized by enzymes of the fungus Aspergillus niger acting on sucrose. GOS is naturally found in soybeans and can be synthesized from lactose (milk sugar). FOS, GOS, and inulin are available as nutritional supplements in capsules, tablets, and as a powder.

Not all natural oligosaccharides occur as components of glycoproteins or glycolipids. Some, such as the raffinose series, occur as storage or transport carbohydrates in plants. Others, such as maltodextrins or cellodextrins, result from the microbial breakdown of larger polysaccharides such as starch or cellulose.”

I just finished Dr. Hyman’s book. He seems to stick to the low fat dogma that I have heard about for years before turning to Paleo and LCHF. He is close to a vegetarian diet only adding low fat meats and high omega 3 foods like wild salmon. He also recommends whole grain rice and beans, no caffeine, no alcohol, and no cigars. Heaven forbid. I drink a few glasses of wine a week and enjoy my one cup of java in the morning along with the occasional cigar on the golf course. I also took his online questionnaire and he recommended I take $300 a month in supplements.Grace do you think Dr. Hyman’s regimen would help me? Do I need to be this strict? I have recently upped my fiber intake with physillium and PS 2 tbls of each per day along with more fruits and vegetables. I feel good, but BG is still high with fasting around 120. My fasting insulin level is high at 15. I love your blog. Thanks

No cigars???! Say it aint so…! lol That’s funny, his office mate and I do them

Yes — you have to ignore the low fat rhetoric but the other advice is good. If one actually is eating higher carb, then lower fat might be more conducive to meeting health goals. The limit depends on the person — 30-50% might be ideal for most for maintenance

Do you have significant mercury?Do you have ongoing intestinal permeability? How is adrenal function?What’s your thyroid panel (FT3, FT4, RT3, antibodies, etc)?Etc

On my AHS14 talk, I discuss the ‘gut fingerprint’ seen in T2 diabetes. This needs to be rehab’d imho for ultimate health and to become superhuman. Like other gut origin conditions, the presence of pathogens and the absence of the beneficial core ancestral microbiota deeply characterize the condition, because energy partitioning massively involves our gut microbiota.

Anonymous

Dr. BG,

Go you have any advice for gut health/weight loss after having your gall bladder removed. Post surgery I have had good success losing weight on VLC but have had mild IBD symptoms. Probiotics & RS has helped but I wanted to see if you have any specific thoughts.

Gallbladder damage is gluten related and intestinal permeability. Have you stopped all gluten?

A stool test from a functional medicine lab can determine how your digestion is –stool pH–elastase–undigested plant, meat or fats

What I do is outsource all of the above until digestion optimizes. Are you low thyroid as I discussed in this post? Thyroid also determines our gut health and viciously cycles downward when knocked out. We need thyroid for optimal gut motility, core temps for max gut enzyme activity and secretory function, etc.

Do you consume half raw foods? Raw has active digestive enzymes by nature.

I might have high mercury, as a child our family friend was a dentist and he gave us some mercury to play with. I did not ingest any but it might have leached trans dermaly or micro amounts could have remained on my hands and ingested. Also I took tetracycline for childhood acne. I don’t remember how long I was on the theropy, but I do remember getting reflux from the capsules ( horrible taste).

Just tetracycline, doxy and the like antibiotic class, no lying down 2-3 hours afterwards because the drug can reflux up and ‘burn’ the mucosal surface of the esophagus.

The mercury exposures in our youths can haunt us forever, particularly if we have a combo of the genetic variants that alter the way we eliminate or detox heavy metals. The skin/dermal exposure may not be that bad but the thing with mercury is that it vaporizes easily. When we chew or ingest heated food, our mercury amalgams ‘gas off’ mercury. When mercury containing thermometers or energy efficient bulbs break and release beads of mercury on carpeting or the floor, they are known to gas off into the environment.

James N

For those that gain weight on potatoes, try to identify safe non-toxic legumes as a way of getting resistant starch. The legumes that work for me are sprouted lentils and Anasazi beans. I use the quick soak method for Anasazi beans in a pressure cooker; drain and rinse and then cook in the pressure cooker with some salt various spices for 12 minutes under pressure.

That sounds great. For legumes, all forms of processing improve the RS3 content… –fermentation–sprouting–boiling–pressure cooking (not always, but not much)

Legumes and tubers are practically evolutions perfect food for both intestinal flora and the mammalian host who was smart enuf to learn how to process them and not die trying to eat toxic ones raw/unsoaked.

Roasted tubers are fantastic if one can tolerate. Roasted yams and sw potatoes are Dioscorea, and therefore not part of the nightshade family.

They also contain quite a bit of amylose, soluble and insoluble fibers when the whole tuber is eaten.

Sw potatoes and heirloom otatoes also contain quite a bit. So a roasted sw/potato is far better than in nutrient dense provisions that a bag of Bob’s Red Mill. It contains 8-10 g fiber in every 100 g (~1/2 cup portion) and still have 20 g RS3 when roasted and room temp. THe soluble fiber in these tubers supercharge immunity. Same with legumes. Maybe the matrix in whole foods of both the soluble + RS3 + insoluble fiber is what thrills a balanced and harmonious gut?

Handy tubers make great ancestral snacks too! LIke a good HG, I bring them in my purse and snack all day on them, esp after a run. Not much protein though (or fat). So a handful of nuts or grassfed beef jerky or raw milk yogurt are excellent accompaniments.

Dr BG–if we know we have a second brain in our gut, and we know pharmaceuticals are (too often) not friendlies, why isn’t there more research on the effect of psych meds on gut and mind health? We know many of the neuroleptics slam fat on the body (and, in my experience and belief) also massively reduce muscle mass. Yet there’s incredibly little on the gut/mind/psych med nexus.I got off of 20+ years of antidepressants, mood stabilizers, etc., nearly 5 years ago, but it wasn’t until I started (1) eating fermented foods and lots of protein (mostly meat and whey isolate) (2) lifting heavy-azz weights regularly, (3) eating lots of cold sweet potatoes, plantains, and bananas, and (4) taking magnesium, vitamin c, dhea, fish oil, chromium, and similar supplements that my depression, anxiety and fat started dropping. (I did a very low-carb keto food plan for 4 months, but was always tired after going for walks, sprints, and lifting–plus I stopped losing fat. Then I switched to a cyclical keto plan, which was alright, but am now mostly moderate-high protein and carbs, and low fat.)Anyway, the mind-health piece is significant because so many people are getting their guts and metabolism messed up behind psych meds. Fortunately there are others who do see the gut-mind link, but not enough to drown out the entreaties from big pharma: “You’ve got a chemical imbalance in your brain” and other such nonsense.Thanks for this blog–I don’t understand all of it, but I’m glad to have found it.

YOu’re a preachin to a former pharmaceutical fiend turned FARMACIST now! Yes I’d love to see the gut studies on the “gut/mind/psych med nexus”. Obviously you seem familiar with fermented foods and the GAPS paradigm, no? Paleo is not enuf often in the modern day to fix the broken gut-brain but it definitely sounds like you’ve made epic strides. Good for u hawwwt grrrl!

In mud and cow manure, M vaccae is an organism related to elevation in mood and anti-depressant effects. You can so, no? we are so disconnected from the original flora that love to travel or reside in our human guts. Symbiotically we work as a unit — establishing a collaborative community for both health of the host and its inhabitants when all is working well (farms, fields, animals, humans, etc).

Thanks for your comment! Hope to hear more of your successful journey and explorations

Anonymous

Thanks so much for answering my gall bladder question. Very helpful.

GUT~MOJO

Hey Grzzzzace,

Per your comments that LB have a direct effect on HP would it be prudent to get in as much fermented foods, LB supplements (Primal Defense, etc). alongside copious amounts of inulin to try and reduce HP before continuing to up starch/RS? The thought here is that the fermented foods may contribute some to the yeast overgrowth in the interim, but the LB effect on HP would help to bring down the pathogenic load and slowly allow starch/RS to roll back in.

The constant (what seems to be symbiotic) relationship between yeast and HP are making the increase of starch/RS challenging, alongside adrenal fatigue.

That said, do you have a “detox” protocol (whether if be liquid diet, antimicrobial fiesta, etc.) you like for trying to reduce the pathogenic/yeast load if ramping up the 7 steps continues to be an issue….or do you believe continuing to tweak/build is the best route?

Any input appreciated, pls keep posted on when your practice is opening back up!

Anonymous

Several of the enriched species in lean mice are isoflavone degraders? Any relevance?

The point of testing with new technology (Genova Diagnostics, ubiome, amgut) is to know what is in the black box so we can see how we change and shift things there with prebiotics/RS/fiber, probiotics, antibiotics, good/bad diets.

The gist is: raw potato starch can shift things worse unless you know what you are dealing with. Even can make a high risk colorectal cancer gut profile worse. On this post, in obesity or T2D or autoimmune (Hashimoto’s thyroiditis) — RS2 can also provoke an exacerbation of an already dysregulated gut. It won’t feed what is ‘missing’.

Essentially if you can read between the lines, what I believe Tim is saying, don’t eat RPS all the time and NOT A HIGH DOSE 😉 Yes this is probably a vast departure from his original thoughts, since having the last uBIOME confirmed. What improved the gut populations were the improvements with cooked-cool RS3 and increase in diverse plant polysaccharides (eg ‘fiber’).

‘I think where potato starch will end up in my life, long-term, is just as an occasional supplement when I don’t eat enough real fiber foods on some days. You know how it goes…eating in a restaurant, parties, whatever.

I think I’ll also switch it up with inulin, “the other white powder.”‘

Anonymous

Ahhh. Thank you — that makes much more sense now that you’ve connected the dots for me. I’m sure that won’t be the last question I have for you, but hopefully the next ones (yes, probably plural) will be progressively more informed. I am reading your blog and other probably an average of an hour a day. I love, luv, lurrvv your blog. (I hope I said that right)-Travis

Natasha :-)

Dear Grace,

Hi! I’m leaving a post here, because I think it is the right place.

I didn’t have my gut/poo tested. In another post I gave you all my reasons (husband lost his job) and my justifications (I know “everything” about alternative health and healthy diets). Therefore, I thought I could wing it….

Yes, I can eat potatoes now, it took 6 months of AOR-3. But, in these 6 months my allergies have gotten out of control. I now have wheezing, itchy mouth, and anxiety (feel like I will faint or having heart symptoms) every day. 🙁

Plus….I am up to 205 pounds. 🙁

So, despite my “intelligence” and wide variety of pre-biotics, I think I have been feeding something bad. And of course, I don’t know what. 🙁

My plan, take a break from potatoes, take a break from most of the pre-biotics and pro-biotics. Primal Defense definitely causes anxiety for me. 🙁 I am going back on the diet, strictly, that worked well for me years ago…which blindly fed the good things and starved the bad ones because that time I went from 274 to 169.

I tried. I really did. But now I know, the gut has to be tested and I can’t just experiment with this.

Once my weight it back in a normal range, I can experiment with these healthy foods again. Hopefully too, my husband will have a job so that I can test my gut.

Are you sure you are tolerating potatoes? ‘ But, in these 6 months my allergies have gotten out of control. I now have wheezing, itchy mouth, and anxiety (feel like I will faint or having heart symptoms) every day. :-(‘

Any other factors? If not, then I may consider that the shift to potatoes feeding certain gut populations or the carbs have affected metabolism.

Natasha :-)

Dear Grace,

Hi! Yes, I think this is what has happened. By focusing on PS / Potatoes / RS in my diet I have had a severe and increased of allergies. And, I have gained weight eating good, traditional foods. 🙁

Another sad thought I have…. My husband has T1D. Over two years I tried to force Dr. Berstein’s low carb diet on him. He protested but I succeeded in drastically restricting his favorite foods, rice and potatoes. He especially loves refried rice, left overnight and eaten cold in the morning. Potaotes, in any form.

So what happens? Do his A1C’so improve? No! Instead he is hit hard and fast by a new auto immune disease, which presents like aggresive lymphoma. Yeah, fun. He is so sick he comes home from work mid day. Illness? Sarcoidosis. Cause? Unknown. Our family doctor’s only comment is that he is likely to develop Celiac disease too.

As I started eating potatoes, RS, etc., reintroduced it to my husband as well. But now he has gained weight too. The fattest I have ever seen him.

Definitely not a fairytale. There is just so much unknown and not yet predictable about the immune system and what is a healthy gut. Fascinating, but not easy.

Natasha

Natasha :-)

Yes Grace. I think I have been feeding the bad guys.

I just never associated the new and increased allergy symptoms with Potaotes/AOR-3 because my previous bad potato responses disappeared, I thought all was well.

In some ways, it is a relief. If I stop the PS / RS focus, then I don’t have to take all the drugs my GPS prescribed. I just refuse to drug up.

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